Preview: Coyotes vs. Rangers

GLENDALE --The Coyotes will play the finale of a five-game homestand on Thursday night when they host the New York Rangers at Gila River Arena. The puck drops at 7 p.m. Arizona time.
Arizona (11-19-5) will attempt to snap a five-game losing streak during which it has scored just eight goals.

"It just comes down to getting to the front of the net and putting pucks at the net," defenseman Luke Schenn said. "When you're struggling to score goals, you don't want to overcomplicate it ... the more volume at the net the better. We need more guys going to the net getting screens, tips, rebounds."
Head Coach Dave Tippett lately has bemoaned the team's inability to hit the net with shots; 81 of their attempts have been blocked or not on net in the past two games.
"The ones that bother me are the uncontested shots that are right there, and we're trying to be too fine," Tippett said. "You've got to give yourself a chance to score."

The Rangers are a high-scoring team, but the Coyotes will be focused on their own style on Thursday.
"It's about us," forward Tobias Rieder said. "Obviously we've got to shut them down. We've got to play in their zone. That's the best defense."
Mike Smith, who did not practice on Wednesday, is expected to start in goal. Smith will enter the game with a 7-9-4 record and a .924 save percentage.
Forward Radim Vrbata, who leads the team with nine goals, has scored five goals in his past three games vs. the Rangers as a member of the Coyotes, including a hat trick in the 2013-14 season opener.
The Coyotes have opted to play with just 11 forwards the past two games. That strategy left forward Josh Jooris watching as a healthy scratch. Jooris, whom Arizona claimed off waivers on Dec. 11, is hoping to get back in the lineup vs. New York, the team he started the season with and for whom he played 12 games.
"It will be a little different," said Jooris, who scored his lone goal of the season for New York in its 3-2 win over Arizona on Oct. 23. "I know a lot of guys there so it will be fun. It's always a cool experience when you get to play your old team. If I get in (the lineup), I'll have some extra jump."

Center Martin Hanzal will enter the game needing one point to become the 17th player in franchise history with 300 points.
Forward Ryan White is expected to miss his third consecutive game because of a lower-body injury.
New York (24-12-1) has beaten Arizona six consecutive times and outscored the Coyotes, 24-11, in those games.
The Rangers, who rank second in the League with 123 goals, are the only NHL team that has five players who have produced at least 10 goals this season. They are Michael Grabner (14), Rick Nash (13), Kevin Hayes (11), Chris Kreider (11), and Jimmy Vesey (10).
Kreider is averaging a goal per game vs. the Coyotes in five career games.
Goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who missed Tuesday's win over Ottawa because of the flu, is one win away from passing Dominik Hasek to become the all-time leader in wins by a European-born goaltender in NHL history. Lundqvist traveled with the team to Arizona on Wednesday but likely will serve as backup to Antti Raanta.
"We can't go there and say 'they've lost a couple games in a row so they're going to lose this one also,'" Raanta told the Rangers web site, regarding the Coyotes. "They will come hard. It's going to be a tough game. They have lots of young guys there and a couple real good d-men with the puck, so it's going to be a tough game."
New York is tied for the most road wins (11) by an NHL team this season and has won four of its past five games away from Madison Square Garden.
OFFICIAL GAME NOTES
BROADCAST INFO:
TV: FOX Sports Arizona Plus
Radio: ESPN Phoenix 620 AM
COYOTES PROJECTED LINEUP VS. RANGERS
Tweet from @ArizonaCoyotes: Tonight's projected lineup. #NYRvsARI pic.twitter.com/NkuIUSIySY